


This Old Mountain

by wynter123321



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, semi-happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 10:29:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7504810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynter123321/pseuds/wynter123321
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soldier 76 shows up at the overwatch base of operations and eventually Reinhardt recognizes who it is under the faceplate. Reinhardt is angry that his friend let him believe he was dead and confronts 76.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Old Mountain

It hadn’t taken long for Reinhardt to realize the man claiming the persona Soldier 76 was in fact Jack Morrison. After Winston managed to find a base of operations for the new Overwatch, it took a bout a month for Reinhardt to arrive then another for Soldier 76. When He’d arrived it’d probably taken a day for Reinhardt to recognize the voice and the way Soldier 76 carried himself. It took another week to convince himself it could be true. 

He’d buried Jack. It’d been five whole years since then without a word, and yet there he was, talking with Winston. Jack had tried to play it off as though he’d found Overwatch through some other means and just wanted to help the cause, said that he wasn’t a hero, just doing his job. A pit had dug itself into Reinhardt’s stomach. The typically cheery man had resigned to his room, hiding from the familiar face.

Five years and a man who Reinhardt regarded as a close friend had made no contact. Five years passed with him believing his friend dead. He drifted between feelings of betrayal and anger for days until deciding to confront Jack. His feet moved with all the presence of an earthquake as Reinhardt barged through the halls. He finally caught Morrison on his way to the mess hall alone.

Jack, whenever he was still Jack Morrison, had never seen Reinhardt truly angry. He’d never seen the giant be anything but his normal boisterous self or, if the occasion dictated, stood stone-faced in uniform. Reinhardt was like a rhino rushing at him. Soldier 76 had no means to escape the stampede.

A large finger jammed into his chest, shoving him back against the wall. He looked up at the puffy red face, lined by white hair staring down at him, tired eyes glaring. Jack had been scared many times in his life. He faced down death even more times, but for once he felt the cold, terrifying and guilty gnaw of being confronted by his friend in such a way.

“Five years.” Tears welled in Reinhardt’s baggy eyes. “Five years, Jack. Oh no, I’m sorry, Soldier 76. “ He took a step back to walk away before one last thing. “I buried you.” He punctuated the statement by pointing his finger directly in 76’s face.

Reinhardt marched away to the training room to take out his anger on something that wouldn’t betray him. Jack let his head fall back against the wall. He thought for a moment that perhaps he should have died in that explosion, or at least remained dead to those he knew. A sigh rasped through his mask. Jack knew he’d be found out sooner or later with his luck. He had just hoped he’d been truly dead before he was. He continued to the mess hall, but couldn’t manage to eat anything.

\---

Reinhardt huffed, tired and aching muscles screamed at him to stop. He’d been in the training area for hours fighting out his emotions. His palms had cuts and blisters from swinging his hammer without gloves, but he ignored them. He wanted to pretend everything was okay. He wanted to be happy and join the few others who’d made way to the base, but the funerals kept playing at his mind. He’d buried Gabriel and Jack, but now how could he know that either had died? How could he trust that anyone he had lowered into the grave, casket filled or not, was truly dead? Reinhardt sat down on a nearby bench to take a breath. 

He managed to calm down for the moment. Reinhardt looked over the messy practice area. He’d have to fix the things he’d broken to keep Winston from getting angry. It could be done another day. Reinhardt hauled himself up and returned to his room to finally sleep a good long sleep.

Days passed and Reinhardt seemed like his normal jovial self around the others. Soldier 76 kept himself scarce when Reinhardt was around the base. He kept picturing the look of disgust and anger on Reinhardt’s face when he’d backed him against the wall. As if his guilt for everything else he’d done wasn’t enough, he’d managed to salt his wounds further by hurting the one person he’d never seen be anything but kind and happy. Reinhardt made a point to ignore Soldier 76’s presence anytime they did run into each other. It was a petty thing to do, but he felt it a fitting punishment.

The tension didn’t go unnoticed by the others though. Winston asked both of them if anything was wrong, but only received short no’s. Tracer just tried to keep cheery. Every once in awhile she’d check in with Winston to see if he knew anything. Both kept careful watch over the two. The rest just tried to keep out of it.

\---

Two more weeks went by at this awkward impasse until finally a knock came to Reinhardt’s door late at night.

“Come in, friend!” Reinhardt had expected one of the others. While none of them had made habit of visiting his quarters, especially this late, he felt it was more likely than Soldier 76. He was wrong. His smile fell flat as the he saw the familiar faceplate. His gaze locked on the red visor in a look akin to an animal readying itself to drive an intruder from its territory.

Jack stepped into the room. His face was unreadable behind the mask, but his posture displayed caution. 76 cracked the door imperceptibly as he closed it in case a quick escape was needed, a habit and a precaution. Reinhardt gestured to a chair across the room stiffly.

“Clearly we need to speak about… a lot.” 76 sighed after he spoke. He sat in the chair, moving it slightly to be more in view of Reinhardt’s good eye. It was a purely instinctive movement left over from the years before, a testament to how well they had known each other then. Reinhardt sat up in his bed and turned to him. His brows creased and his jaw clenched, distaste for 76’s presence clear on his face. He would hear 76 out, but he wouldn’t be Jack until he earned it again, no matter how much part of Reinhardt wanted him to be. No matter how much he wanted a piece of the past to cling to for a little while.

Soldier 76’s hands moved the sides of his faceplate. His fingers made small movements then a click noise could be heard. The plate fell loose in his hands and he held it in his lap. The room turned to a blur of colours and vague shapes. Black specks dotted what little he could see. It was a vulnerable feeling allowing Reinhardt to see him without his faceplate and in turn being unable to clearly see Reinhardt or his surroundings.

Reinhardt’s good eye scanned the scarred and damaged skin of the man he knew. His angry demeanor dropped slightly. An image of the young, vibrant face that used to be there flashed to his mind. He could picture the blonde hair that flipped up where now white hair hung, the bright, prideful smile where now sat marred lips. Tired, damaged eyes lacked the hopeful look they once had. It was a defeated look that 76 wore. The look dulled the edge of Reinhardt’s anger quickly.

“Perhaps I have been too harsh...too quick with my emotions.” Reinhardt paused a moment collecting his thoughts. “I will not say that I am not still hurt or that this makes what was done okay, but I see you have already been punished more than I could ever want for you.”

Part of 76 was glad Reinhardt was no longer angry, but another part wished that he were. The same part that wanted Reinhardt to hit him, yell, anything to make him feel like he was getting what 76 thought he deserved. Instead Reinhardt placed a large, warm hand on his shoulder. He leaned into the warmth. He hadn’t realized how long he’d gone without affectionate human contact. Everything had been combat or nothing since he’d “died”.

“Come here, my friend.” The words sounded strange to 76, but he stood. Reinhardt pulled him in closer, using his hands to guide him to the bed. The warmth of Reinhardt against 76’s side made him close his eyes. It was like a large blanket over him. A gentle hand slowly moved to cup his face. He flinched out of habit, but let it return.

“It has been too long, hmm? The world has been an unkind place to you. Perhaps as unkind as you have been to yourself.” Reinhardt was perceptive enough to know the signs of a person broken. It wasn’t an uncommon sight in their line of work. He couldn’t even say that he was without his cracked and weathered pieces.

Jack wasn’t necessarily into being told everything he denied about himself, but the warmth was hard to pull away from and the longer he stayed the harder he found it was to want to run again. It was just the two of them, aging soldiers, old and lonely and more than a little vulnerable in each other’s presence. Jack curled into the warmth, digging his head into the side of Reinhardt’s chest. He could hear the thud of Reinhardt’s heart and the rumble as he sighed.

“Thank you, Reinhardt.” Jack’s words were quiet. His every breath caught the sweet smell of Reinhardt as he lost himself in the rise and fall of the familiar chest. The arm wrapped over his side and the large body he leaned against felt like a mountain encasing him. The walls of which he found safety in. The two laid down on their sides in the bed and Reinhardt wrapped his arms around Jack’s chest like he still wasn’t sure if this was all real.

“Please do not leave me again, Jack. There are too few of us left.” Reinhardt’s words were a sad and desperate rumbling above 76. He leaned down, pressing his head to the top of Jack’s. For once, Soldier 76 was too comfortable to feel the poison of the name Jack. 76’s hands curled around Reinhardt’s arms as he found a comfortable position. The two laid there for what seemed like hours before falling asleep, almost as though afraid if they closed their eyes the other would be gone.

A last thought came to 76’s mind just before falling asleep. This old mountain would shelter him through any storm if he could just avoid crumbling the walls in on himself.


End file.
